Finsterwald wins opening stage at Moab Rocks

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The inaugural Moab Rocks stage race rolled out under sunny skies from the City of Moab on Saturday morning escorted by local police along Kane Springs Road into the red cliffs of the Canyonlands. The pack rode at a neutralized pace until tires hit dirt. Then the racing started in earnest with sustained speeds of up to 30mph on the dirt road at the front of the pack, while the rest of the field took in some spectacular views as the morning light illuminated the cliffs lining the course.

After the first major climb of the day, up and over Hurrah Pass, riders hit the infamous Jackson's Ladder, a section where they were obliged to carry their bikes up a steep boulder strewn gap in the vertical cliff face. The leaders navigated this section on foot in a surprisingly fast time of seven minutes, while later riders took significantly longer as they struggled over the large rocks. From the top of the ladder, only a short section of climbing brought riders to the start of the timed descent stage on the Captain Ahab Trail.

For the overall cross country standings, the first rider across the line was Russell Finsterwald (Trek Factory Racing) of Colorado Springs with a time of 2:06:18, followed by two other Colorado pros, Josh Tostado (Santa Cruz) and Travis Brown (Trek).

The women's category represented the dual origins of Moab Rocks with two former TransRockies Challenge champions and one local Moab rider in the top 3. Taking top spot was Kate Aardal (Ridley's Cycle) with a time of 2:29:17. Heidi Rentz (Ibis-Poison Spider) of Moab was second with a time of 2:34:12 and Trish Grajzcyk (Deadgoat Racing) from Calgary was third at 2:44:16.

In the 40+ Men's Category it was Moab's own Mark Sevenoff (Western Spirit) taking the win with a time of 2:20:28. Two Arizona riders rounded out the podium with Erik Keniston (Singletrack Bikes) in second and Kip Moyer (Flagstaff) in third. In the 40+ Women's category it was another former TransRockies Challenge champion Margie Smith (Wilson Mountain Sports) in the lead with a time of 2:50:39, followed by Calgary's Trish Mayer who was second despite going off course for 45 minutes after missing a turn while admiring the view! Atlanta's Jennifer Horn (Peachtree Bikes) was third.

The 50+ Men's category saw Mark Wallace (Pedal Pushers Cyclery) over TransRockies veteran Alec Petro (Corner Cycle) and Basalt, Colorado's Mike Armstrong (Xccentials/Basalt Bike & Ski).

Although not a true enduro, Moab Rocks offers a taste enduro by offering separate timing for a segment of downhill riding on each stage. Racers can challenge the timed descents for bragging rights as the best downhiller! For Stage 1, the descent winners were the same as the overall winners in all categories. In the open men's category, Russell Finsterwald took the top time with an incredible 17 minutes and 11 seconds, 55 seconds faster than the next faster rider, Josh Tostado. In the Open Women's Category, it was overall winner Kate Aardal with a margin of over 2 minutes. The 40+ categories also had the same winners as the overall stage: Margie Smith in 40+ Women (26:18) and Mark Sevenoff in 40+ Men (21:07). In the 50+ Men's category it was Mark Wallace with the fastest time of 21:16.

Stage 2 preview

Stage 2 will take riders from the desert to the mountains with 4,000 feet of climbing from the start in the City of Moab high into the Manti LaSal National Forest for some classic high-country singletrack. The timed descent stage starts with the UPS singletrack, followed by LPS and Porcupine Rim. Nearly 12 miles of descending one of Moab's most popular rides will take racers to the end of the timed descent and the official finish of Stage 2. Although the racing will be over, riders still have three miles of fun singletrack riding ahead of them to get to the end the trailhead on the shores of the Colorado River. The stage distance is 29 miles plus three bonus miles of descending.

Full Results for stage 1 and GC after stage 1